Greg Norman landed himself in another, major row over appearance money, by walking out of the £400,000 Alfred Dunhill PGA Championship in Johannesburg. Due to rain and bad light, the tournament was not completed until yesterday when Zimbabwe's Tony Johnstone captured the title.
By the time Johnstone ended a six-year drought on the European Tour, however, Norman had long departed the scene. The world's number two had completed only nine holes of his final round on Sunday when he informed officials that he would not be returning yesterday morning.
So, under the cloud of disqualification but enriched to the tune of $300,000 in appearance money, Norman left South Africa in his private jet, apparently for a meeting with former US President George Bush, to discuss aspects of the biennial President's Cup matches in Australia next December. In his absence, officials imposed the maximum fine, which remained a paltry 1,000 rand (£125).
The South African Tour commissioner, Arnold Mentz said: "I am disappointed by Norman's decision not to conclude his final round. I consider his conduct to be injurious to our tour." Sponsor's representative Iain Banner said: "We are aware of Greg's commitments in the US and the fact that he could not stay until Monday. However, we respect the fact that the governing bodies of professional golf are obligated to deal with such matters in the manner they feel fit."
Johnstone, who held off a strong challenge by local hero Ernie Els to take the title by two shots, was reluctant to comment on Norman's absence, other than to ask: "How much was he getting paid this week?" On hearing the size of Norman's fee, the Zimbabwean added: "I would have thought that was worth an extra day."
It will be recalled that Norman landed himself and the relevant sponsors in deep water in 1995 over his appearance fees at the Dubai Desert Classic and the Murphy's Irish Open at Mount Juliet. The upshot was that the European Tour warned the sponsors against a repetition of their generosity, prompting an angry reaction from the Shark.
As it happened, Norman was nine strokes behind Johnstone before his decision to quit and the Zimbabwean led the field at Houghton by five strokes going into the final round. When play was suspended, he and Els both had 10 holes still to play this morning.
In the event, 41-year-old Johnstone completed a level-par 72 for a 17-under total of 271 as Els carded a 69 to finish on 273. South African Retief Goosen, who closed with a 65, and defending champion Nick Price of Zimbabwe (68) shared third place on 275.
Johnstone, who was beaten by Christy O'Connor Jnr in a play-off for the British Masters at Woburn in 1992, said: "The key was the putter. Everything flows from the putter. Every single putt I hit this week went where I wanted at the pace I wanted, even if I didn't always sink them."
But he didn't sink one that really mattered, however, when a three-yard birdie effort slipped past the target on the par-four 17th after Els had levelled matters at the 16th with a birdie to his rival's par.
Both players then found a greenside bunker on the last but Johnstone blasted out to tap-in range and Els, who needed to hole his shot to force a play-off, came up three yards short and missed the putt to card a bogey.
"I always enjoy going head-tohead with Ernie," said Johnstone. "You know that he is not going to make too many mistakes coming at you, and if he draws level you can't just lie back and give up. You have to fight back. I think I did that today."
Meanwhile, Richard Coughlan achieved admirable consistency with a liberal sprinkling of flair, when shooting rounds of 72, 65, 71 and 69 for 277 - 11 under par - to finish tied 49th behind John Huston in the Hawaiian Open last weekend. This was Coughlan's first completed event on the regular USPGA Tour and it earned him a first cheque for $4,329.
He can also count on more to follow from the AT & T Pro-Am which will be completed on August 17th, the day after the USPGA Championship. In the meantime, he is competing this week in the Tucson Classic where, unfortunately, colleague Keith Nolan failed to get into the field.
"I'm really pleased with the way I played in Hawaii, particularly the second round," said Coughlan yesterday.
